Dec 26, 2008

The value of a tragedy on film can be somewhat redundant at times. When a film is made to showcase an incident "based on" some event that shocked a small number of people, the result is normally a soulless exercise in directing minimalism. To create an independent "tear-jerker" is a sucker punch for film festivals as most fans of drama love to cry. I don't blame them. Sadness is a much more poetic and poignant emotion than happiness. Happiness is generally hollow.

As Robert Downey Jr. so succinctly put it in Tropic Thunder - "Never go full retard"

For those who haven't heard of Genie; the modern Feral child, Mockingbird Don't Sing follows the true story of a child raised from near birth strapped to a chair/toilet hybrid. This fabulous piece of carpentry is where Genie (Katie in the film) spent all her time during the day, up until she was rescued months before her 14th birthday. What better way to bring a story of a divine innocence than the director of all three Xtro films - Harry Bromley Davenport.

Maybe I'm of a cold heart but this film didn't quite form the visceral assault that it promised. Rather than accepting this as a whole-blooded film, this seemed more like a dignified Lifetime reenactment. To watch a child actress play dumb and pretend like she lacks linguistic capabilities doesn't constitute awards and praise. In news of more postmodern feral children, thanks to the discovery of Josef "Dungeon Keeper" Fritzl's Pink Flamingos-esque cellar, many more of the "Pepsi generation" have begun to catch on to how cruel life is.

I could catch up on some of the case details, but this is a film review highlighting the highs and the lows of this film, which there are many. My convictions allow me to digress the fact that my thoughts may be deemed unhealthy towards the lower class or handicapped, but I just really loathe pointless cinematic excursions in telling a story that has been told time and time again with no new visions in directing.

If you've ever read A Child Called It, you already know the procedure. There's both rhyme and reason for the fear of feminization depicted by Katie's father. Before he commits suicide, he leaves a note saying "The world will never understand". In many ways, he is correct. The world will never understand why this film was made. While it resonates some emotional distress in some scenes, the rest proves to be entirely inaccurate and too provoked. It would be best to skip this crowd pleaser and just pick up the book. Call me heartless but I got a grip on humanity.

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SS is a postmortem Occidental Sinema site led by two admittedly vicious Nordish libertine cinephiles. We ruthlessly, yet charmingly rip at the bowels of the prissy populous PC-beast; offering the more discerning reader a piece of our eclectically refined minds and our uncompromisingly distinct weltanschauungs. At Soiled Sinema, we believe in cinematic diversity and equal-opportunity film criticism. Do yourself a favor by allowing us to gouge at your Hollywood-lobotomized gray matter, as we have a pleasant plethora of svelte and seminal writings on films we have come to wholeheartedly and fanatically cherish, as well as expertly diagnosing loathsome cinematic abortions worthy of total celluloid deterioration.